Since you can use your own MP3’s you aren’t limited to what Microsoft and DICE created and it’s a nice touch to be able to create your own soundtrack. The in game music is adequate but it’s not something you’re going to burn off and listen to in your car (although it is certainly better than the music for Midnight Club II).
Maybe it is the French accents in the French missions but there were times when I was close to muting the TV to prevent myself from tearing out what is left of my hair. The only annoying thing is that some of the voice audio is a bit grating. The audio for the game is also solid, the engines sound nice and there is a nice crunch every time you smack into something. Even with all of the graphical goodness I never experienced any kind of slow-down, everything was nice and silky smooth and provided a nice feeling of speed. The artists did a nice job of representing the major monuments of each city and it’s cool to race around the Eiffel tour and the Washington monument. The in-game graphics are also well done and the cities are very nicely rendered while the car graphics are good but not groundbreaking. The game is done with very bright colors (especially in contrast to Midnight Club II) and there’s a real bright feel to all of the menus and interface screens. The design team did an excellent job of creating a nice vivid world. The graphics Midtown Madness 3 are well done and tight.
Midtown Madness 3 features 30 fully licensed cars that you can drive around (and under) two major cities, Paris and Washington DC (trivia fact: DC and Paris are the only cities in the world with underground railroad systems called “Metros”). Midtown Madness 3 is the latest in a string on non-linear racers, instead of forcing you to follow a track you have the freedom to choose the best path possible to get from point A to point B (and in some cases, navigate to points C, D, E, and F).